A month after Typhoon Odette struck Southern Leyte, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has begun distributing 15 fiberglass boats to fishermen in Maasin City for them to rebuild their livelihood.
BFAR 8 (Eastern Visayas) Regional Director Juan Albaladejo said on Wednesday the fisherfolk from Asuncion, Combado, and Pasay villages in the provincial capital received the boats on January 22 with engines and accessories.
“The fishing boats, with an estimated value of PHP45,000 to PHP50,000 each, is part of the first batch of distribution of fisheries livelihood interventions to the people of Maasin as committed by the BFAR through National Director Eduardo Gongona. He also pledged that the bureau will earnestly work to deliver the requested number of fishing boats for the City of Maasin by the end of March 2022,” Albaladejo said.
He said the fisheries bureau is committed to beefing up local fisheries production through the provision of livelihood opportunities.
The BFAR is eyeing to distribute more than 200 fiberglass boats for 454 fishermen from 18 coastal villages of Maasin within the first quarter of 2022.
Two beneficiaries share one boat.
The BFAR-8 fabricates fiberglass boats and procures suitable fishing gear and paraphernalia to fast-track the industry’s recovery.
Necessary proposals are also being lobbied by the central government for immediate and appropriate funding, Albaladejo said.
Recipients have been identified through the on-the-ground assessment by the provincial fishery office of Southern Leyte, assisted by the city agriculture office in December 2021.
During the assessment, BFAR personnel recorded about PHP28 million worth of damage and losses to fisheries-related livelihoods and infrastructures in the city alone.
Source: Philippines News Agency
